Tendrils of Smoke
by Corky the Quirk
Summary: The last few nights before the end of sophomore year, and two roommates contemplate their future...


Dalton and Perry:

**Author's Note:** We all know there was a little summin' summin' going on between Neil and Charlie before the adorable, wide-eyed Todd came into the picture. Whether this summin' summin' was more than physical experimentation…who knows? This is my take

**Disclaimer:** IT'S ALL MINE! MWHAHAH! *runs from Peter Weir with the rights to DPS clutched in hands*

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Charlie Dalton was propped up on one of his elbows, smirking down at a sweaty and exhausted Neil Perry. The former ran his hand softly through the brunette's damp hair, loving the way a few strands still remained stuck to Neil's forehead. "I told you not being the bottom bitch was tiring, but did you listen to me? Nope," Charlie chided playfully.

Neil half-snorted, half-laughed in that certain way of his, scratching at the back of his neck and relaxing against the under-stuffed pillow that graced Charlie's dorm-room bed. "Well I figured I'd give it a try…" he replied, his voice cracking slightly on the last syllable, as was common for Neil when he got flustered.

Charlie smiled softly before plopping onto his back beside Neil, inching close so that they could share the pillow. He bent his arms beneath his head, sighing audibly and staring up at the ceiling of his room. Licking his lips, he lolled his head to the side to take in Neil's profile. "How long do you think we'll be able to pull this off?" he asked.

Neil pursed his lips in thought, staring at the ceiling as well. He and Charlie had been fooling around behind closed doors and behind friends' backs since about the middle of sophomore year. Now that the year was coming to an end, and there were only a few days left, he was beginning to doubt exactly how things would turn out between them. He blinked, taking a deep breath, and tilted his head so that the boys' noses were touching. He shrugged his shoulders, rolling onto his side so that his torso was facing Charlie. "We can't really do this over the summer," he pointed out.

Charlie growled in annoyance at this fact. "If you come on vacation with my family we can," he insisted, rolling as well and pressing up against Neil, making the latter boy grin and playfully push Charlie away. Charlie grinned wide and wrapped an arm lightly around Neil's waist, bringing him close one again. "We could!" he repeated.

Neil pouted, running a hand over his face and shaking his head. "My dad wants me to take a few summer classes, Charlie. I can't just run off to Myrtle Beach with the Dalton Clan," he explained dryly.

Charlie groaned, leaning in and nipping Neil's collar bone. "But it would be so worth skipping class for…" he murmured against Neil's skin before beginning to mark it up with his teeth.

Neil squirmed slightly, a failed attempt at escape once Charlie shifted so that he was pinning Neil to the bed. Charlie propped himself lightly above Neil, smirking like there was no tomorrow. "I've got you now," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows before returning to the unfinished hickey he was bestowing upon his friend.

Neil groaned, although a smile was present upon his face, as Charlie burrowed his nose against the crook of Neil's neck after completing his task. Neil couldn't help but wrap his arms lightly around Charlie, who merely lazed across his twig-statured friend. "You're crushing me, Charlie," he wheezed jokingly, letting out a light chuckle.

Charlie grinned, biting at Neil's skin before sliding to the side, allowing Neil to once again breathe in fresh air. "You weren't complaining earlier…" Charlie trailed off, picking at a loose thread on his sheets, easing down into the mattress and running a hand through his hair. "I need a cig."

Neil rolled his eyes, huffing as he propped himself up and reached under the bed, grabbing a small box that Charlie always kept hidden, filled to the brim with cigarette packets and Playboys. Neil chuckled. "Why do you have all of these?" he asked, handing Charlie a smoke and a light.

Charlie smirked. "You're not the only person I'm interested in screwing," he replied simply, sitting up and leaning against the wall, taking a drag off of his cigarette and watching Neil replace the sacred box.

Neil rolled his eyes; leave it to Charlie to get involved in your life while lusting over big-chested women as well. "So…what's going to happen next year?" It had only been by some stroke of luck that they'd ended up roommates sophomore year. Neither had planned this, it had all just fallen together perfectly.

Charlie blew smoke out in rings, watching as they floated lightly upward until they were nothing more. "We'll see how things turn out," he answered, taking another breath of toxic air.

Neil reached over, removing the cigarette from Charlie's hand and taking his own pull. He only smoked when Charlie was around. He didn't know why, it was just one of those many unexplainable things in life; like how Charlie was so obviously uncommitted yet always seemed to get people to devote themselves to him, or how Knox could so effortlessly fall head over heels for a girl one year and then chase another's tale the next, or how Hopkins managed to put so little effort into school and somehow always managed to pass.

Together the boys exhaled and watched the tendrils of smoke curl towards the ceiling until they disappeared completely. Evaporating seamlessly into the air and mixing in, as if nothing had ever been different at all.

It was then that they knew things for them were going to end in very much the same way.

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**Author's Note:** There is a bug on my computer screen! AHHH! And the end. I would also like to note that my computer just told me this story is 969 words long. Is it hinting at a possible scenario between Neil and Chaz here? Hmmmm…naughty, brilliant computer…


End file.
